THE PROPER METHOD IN A NUTSHELL

"The sage's way of governing begins by emptying the heart of desires, filling the belly with food, weakening the ambitions and toughening the bones" ---Lao Tzu

Now, I will attempt to explain the often neglected and misunderstood importance of correct partner training. If studied and diligently contemplated upon, I judge that this will stimulate, direct and guide the BaGwa pupil into becoming a thinker that is, someone who can learn to forcefully fortify himself against sundry specimens of crafty combatants and multiple foes, with prevailed preservation.

It is important to know why and how to partner train. Partner training is what separates the men from the boys. One must be able to remain calm during an attack, and especially so in your partner training. First you must lower the respiration into the tandan (tan tien), thus controlling calmness, building and circulating the chi. Clear your mind and think rationally. The practitioner must decide what is the sound stratagem or stimulus for the appointed attack. For example, if an attacker lunges in at you with a punch, what do you do, faint, scream or fall apart because panic has strangled you stiff? The unskilled defender would most likely freeze, and become impotent in his duty to nullify the blow(s). Or he or she may cover up and get bulldozed and pummelled. If he is lucky, he might be able to flee by outrunning his assailant. Nevertheless, the untrained person caught in this situation usually becomes a victim, perhaps a hospital casualty.

This would not happen to the skilled martial artist (unless he or she is fighting Bruce Lee or someone near his skill level). The skilled man would react immediately and intrinsically, without conscious thought, executing the correct crusades to counter the peril. Thus he finishes the task quickly.

There may be many defensive options which can be used for a particular attack. Some may be adequate, but it is important to determine the best or safest response. What determines this response is what has been ingrained in your subconscious. Thus correct reactions are a result of proper partner training drills. For example, if the drill is illogical and/or practiced sloppily over time, these patterns will result in feeble rebuttals (because your mind will be filled with useless trash). The student must deductively decide what the best possible defence is for the attack or stimulus. This decision depends on not only what you, the defender, want to accomplish, but also how dangerous the attack. Does he outweigh you? Does he have a weapon? Does he have accomplices lurking hidden from your view? Other conditions, such as terrain, weather, physical and visual limitations should also be used as premises for deliberating the response (running may be an option if you are facing death). Simply put, you must use reason in your choice of defensive techniques. Study the situation. Get your training colleague to slightly vary the attack by adding a fake (feinting) and fluctuating the speed and rhythm (fainting). One should train with a collection of cohorts. This will help to condition the mind and body of the student, and force him to respond correctly in many situations. Partner training with a highly matured martial maestro will hasten advancement of your skill level, and you will learn martial maneuvers and minutiae not otherwise realized.

After you and your partner have warmed up and decided on a drill, proceed slowly. Repeat the drill slowly at least ten times before switching the attacker/ defender role. Analyze and correct yourself. Is the attacker reaching you with his technique? When blocking, are you performing it properly, extending well out and not four inches away from your nose---if this is the case, the strike has probably already hit you. Blocks are usually a secondary defence. They should be done simultaneously along with fading the target area (the zoned target of your body) out of hitting range. Also use blocks for guiding and trapping; and use blocks to make contact and then stick with your opponent. Playing the drill slowly, eliminates injuries if mistakes are made and will ingrain the proper defensive patterns into your subconscious, thus becoming instinctive when needed.

After switching the attacker/defender role, proceed with the drill at a quicker pace or a natural speed (half speed). When both students feel comfortable performing the drill, the attacker should devise defences for the counter charge. Eventually you should increase the speed to three-quarters or full speed. Maintain proper, polished proficiency. You may want to use a boxing glove if the attack is a punch to avoid injuring your partner. Also, you may use a boxing glove or hand (striking) pad as a target area for the counter. This helps in accurately focusing the strike and avoiding injury. You may also try alternating the attacker/ defender routine to resemble a freestyle sparring situation.

Remain restrained: never use full power behind a technique unless your partner is capable of neutralizing it. It is safer to hold back your power. Always work with your partner and not against him. Do not become sloppy, or practice the drill without correcting your mistakes. Slow down if necessary to achieve the proper results. Stay relaxed and keep alert. Concentrate, and don't let your mind meander. Never anticipate a technique. React only to stimuli. Do not suspirate. Always maintain lower level breathing: inhale during a retraction, and exhale during the deliverance of a strike. Don't tense your muscles, except near the end of the execution of a strike while making contact. Keep your knees bent, cover hands up, lower back straight, shoulders down and upper chest depressed. Make sure you sustain the correct alignment of your spine, keeping your vertical center! But most importantly: be natural, keep tranquil and sink your sustenance. The exercises and maneuvers, and samples of defensive stratagem in the BaGwa book we sell, will toughen your body and help guide and stimulate you in comprehending Eight Trigram Palm principles and procedures intelligently, imposingly and effectively.

With any martial arts drill you practice, you are not fighting but training. Students with a chip on their shoulders, having a need to prove something like false superiority to bolster their insecurities, usually do not achieve advanced skill levels, along with aggravating and frustrating other students, and waste everyone's time. Avoid training with these idiots and pompous fools. You will only become frustrated while fuelling their puny, inflated egos. Mental midgets usually lose interest quickly, and sooner or later clash with tougher individuals possessing less patience with them. The proven way to learn is to diminish the ego to easier comprehend and consume training methods. In conclusion, be humble, be realistic, be patient; and train unrelentingly.